Was
up in NOLA going hammer for all of 1.5 days, but in that short time I:

-Stayed at
a Pool House - on a street called Belaire! Only thing missing was DJ Jazzy Jeff #SummerTimeSwag #Fresh

-Ate at Mother's AND Acme (and scheduled a subsequent appointment to have my cholesterol checked)

-Partied into the night with the
Curlies & MIZANI - enough said, y'all know how we do.

-Sat front row at the Paul Mooney and Dick Gregory (St. Louis Legend!) Stand-up, whereafter I had to photobomb Paul Mooney just to get a pic.

-Drunkenly harassed Mannie Fresh as he crossed the street by screaming out AYYYY MANNNY! MAAANNNNYYYYY!!!!

- People watched and managed to talk about this scruffy looking man,
with mismatched clothes hopping out of a large SUV. Turned out to be
Trey Songz. Now get this - he pulled up to a crowded car port packed
with people and no one else recognized him either, lol!

- Made it to the airport where we ran into Pooch and Hosea from The Game... walking hella slow with what appeared to be their mommas, cousins and aunties in tow!

I'm heading your way in exactly two weeks from today! I hope you'll come out and join me and Mizani for some curl time! There will be free appetizers, gift bags, styling demonstrations and lots of mingling. And of course, entry is free! This is basically an awesome party with some pretty dope styling demonstrations!

The fun will be had at The Sugar Mill and will run from 7-10 pm, so mark your calendars!

The RSVP page will be up tomorrow, but I wanted to give you the heads up!

On Saturday, more than 800 curlies descended onto Charlotte's swanky SUITE to celebrate the amazingness that is natural hair. There was great music, mingling, a lil' wobbling and lots of laughs. The Design Essentials and UR Curly sponsored meetup brought out folks from as far as Georgia, DC and South Carolina. The hair was sick, the fashions haute and the atmosphere... bomb. We had a blast. Thank you Charlotte curlies for your hospitality!

In other news, if anybody happens to come across my voice, let it know I'm looking for it.

So the confirmation emails went out with 'a ticket' to print, and those of you with +1 or +2s are concerned about your ability to get your friends in. Sorry for the glitchiness... guess I was doing the most, lol. At any rate, no worries! Ticket or not, come on out! See you soon!! EXCITED :)

xx
nik

*does Beyonce shoulders* I told you gimme a minute and I'd be right back...

It's been 8 months since my last meetup, but I think I'm ready if you are. So...Charlotte Curlies...
I'm heading your way this month! Sponsored by UR Curly and Design Essentials, it'll be very reminiscent of meetups past, with an upscale feel, complimentary gift bags and appetizers, drink specials and lots of hair chat. Oh, and of course, no entrance fee! I plan to kick it with bof' feet and hope you come out to help me shut it down!

When: Saturday, June 23, 2012 from 6pm-9:30pm

Where: SUITE - 210 East Trade Street Charlotte, NC 28202COST: FREE!

WHAT: Aglamorous get together for you and your curlfriends to mingle with and get to know other curlies in your area. Hell, make it a date night and bring the boo!

The verdict is in. New York curlies go hard y'all. Damn hard. I'm JUST getting home, literally walked in the door a second ago, and 'beat' isn't even the word. I can barely see straight, so I'll keep this quite short--

1. The response to my 3 year blogging anniversary party was overwhelming. After receiving 1500 rsvps in 48 hours and changing venues to accommodate more curlies, sadly, we were only able to ticket 650 of those interested. I was flattered and frustrated... happy and disappointed. I wanted everyone to be able to attend, but (1) a venue that holds 2000 folks in NYC would cost abajillion dollars, and (2) I wouldn't get a chance to meet and mingle with everyone and y'all know how my midwest ass does. *smiles big, waves and motions for a hug*

2. The L'Oreal Mizani sponsored event was nothing short of amazing... wall to wall curly splendiferousness. More than 600 curlies turned out and it was all. the. way. live. I had a ball and from what I could tell, everyone else did too. Boogie was there and I heard she danced all night... until she passed out of course. Oh, and I extended invites to past interviewees Janet 'Aunt Viv' Hubert and Karyn 'Hilary Banks' Parsons in hopes for a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion of sorts... and they came! Big thanks to Mr. sweetdrk1, Ben of onethurteen for snapping some amazing pics!!!!

3. The after party with Christina of LoveBrownSugar at Pranna rocked my socks. I ate, drank (more), and schmoozed with fellow bloggers and those curlies that wanted to keep the party going. Patron shots all around!

4. The ever flyy Folake of Stylepantry.com helped me conceptualize what became my fit for the evening. I wanted help 'color blocking' and she sent me several amazing options to choose from. I pulled from her ideas, sprinkled in a bit of my own flavor and this is what we ended up with--

As for the hurr, just as I did for my Wanda Sykes and pumpkin patch adventures, I dry twisted with... [scary music here]... Dax Green... GREASE... *drops mic, runs off stage*

I know, I know... I can hear the 'awww hell naws' all the way over here. But don't write me off yet, I can explain. But not now, Iz tired! Just know that although my hair is attracting a bit more lint, lol, it's defined and moisture doesn't escape for like 4 days. Forreals... it's a better sealant than any oil I've tried to date and no, it gets no where near my precious scalp!

I've been fielding tons of emails about the upcoming NYC event sponsored by Mizani... questions about ticketing, location, times, and inquiries about the missing RSVP page.

So yeah, about that...

While I'd like to accommodate everyone, we're at, get this, three times capacity. I had no idea the curly love was so strong in NYC…y'all literally shut down the RSVP page in 48 hours! This has NEVER happened before and we've been scrambling all week to make it right.

At any rate, I strive to create a casual and classy atmosphere for curl talk – and 10,000 of us, sweating, shoulder to shoulder, isn't anybody's idea of a grand time. You'd be pissed, trust me.

While there won't be any giveaways, there's no cover and you'll get to meet a bunch of gorgeous naturals. Plus, I'm hoping to meet you and have a drink or two! If you plan to attend, please RSVP to [email protected], using 'after party' in the subject line.

So I've heard many a nasty rumor and generalization about the 'spoiled little LA girls' that Kanye affectionately refers to. I've also heard that weaves rule the day and that you'd be hard pressed to find a natural hair beauty walking the streets of Hollywood. Well Saturday night, I think we blew those stereotypes out of the water.

For the last 6 months, thousands of bloggers shared tips, learned together and of course, made new friends while writing about their experiences growing healthy natural hair. On Saturday, August 13th, Kim Coles, Jessicurland I hosted the Grow Out Challenge (GOC) Wrap Up Party in Los Angeles to celebrate the end of the journey. I can't even begin to describe the spirit in the room. Hundreds of gorgeous women (and men!) came out to celebrate the awesomeness that is our hair. The food was decadent, drinks delish, and venue. OMG. The venue. I wouldn't have expected anything less LA. Thank you.

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